Kentucky Misses Out On Race To Top Dollars Again

Kentucky education officials are assessing what went wrong with the state’s second Race to the Top application. Kentucky has again been denied federal funds.

In March, Tennessee and Delaware were awarded a total of $600 million for education improvements. Now, school districts in nine more states and the District of Columbia will share another $3.4 billion. Apparently, Kentucky’s application for federal funding was lacking one vital component.

“We got zero points for charter schools. So, we were at a 32-point deficit even before the judging began,” says Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday. “We kind of anticipated that. That’s kind of what I’ve been telling everybody – that this particular pot of money did require charter school legislation.”

Legislation to include charter schools in Kentucky’s Race to the Top application died in the 2010 General Assembly.